Ukraine, a Putin-Trump-Zelensky trilateral is being prepared. EU Commission snubbed

Brussels – A three-way summit—US, Russia, Ukraine—to discuss ceasefire and conditions for lasting peace between the armies of Moscow and Kyiv. An all-Russian-American diplomatic initiative, with the European Commission left out. US President Donald Trump is holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin announces a possible summit in the coming days—without giving any date or details—and the tenant of the White House is informing European leaders, but not the president of the EU executive. 

Brussels pretends nothing happened. It is true, acknowledges deputy chief spokesperson Arianna Podestà, that von der Leyen “was not part of the phone calls” and therefore was not directly informed and, yes, the president of the EU executive “has been briefed by some European leaders,” but they do not dramatise. “We do not see how we could be disappointed about something that has not yet been decided.” 

The European Commission was therefore not considered, not even in the person of Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy. Anitta Hipper, Kallas’s own spokeswoman, pushes ahead: “Any form of pressure is welcome, just as any initiative that goes in the direction of a credible and lasting ceasefire.” What is certain is that the EU has not been considered. In a Europe of states, especially without a common foreign policy, the Commission remains marginal.